Waiting on the LORD

Those who wait on the LORD
  Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
  They shall run and not be weary,
  They shall walk and not faint.

(Isaiah 40:31)

The Hebrew word for “wait” is qavah, and literally means to bind or collect. It is a gathering together. As used in the sense of waiting, it is a focusing of one’s attention, indeed, of one’s whole self. The focal point is the Lord.

This kind of waiting is not about “killing time.” Nor is it about occupying yourself with distractions while you wait. No, this kind of waiting is an attentiveness to the Lord, earnestly looking to Him in expectation. It speaks of complete trust. Therefore, it has no back-up plan; it is an all-in kind of faith.

It is young Samuel at night, when he heard the voice of the Lord. Samuel answered, “Speak, for Your servant hears” (1 Samuel 3:10). He was attentive for the word of the Lord. He was expectant.

It is David at prayer: “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning I will direct it to You, and I will look up” (Psalm 5:3). Having directed his prayer to the Lord, he waits in anticipation for the answer.

It is the pilgrim in Psalm 84 as he pours out his heart: “My soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God” (v. 2). His whole being is fixed on the Lord. Nothing else will do; nothing else will even come close.

It is the watchfulness of Habakkuk: “I will stand watch and set myself on the rampart, and watch to see what He will say to me” (Habakkuk 2:1).

When our trust and expectation are fully set on the Lord, there is a great strength that comes. We mount with wings like eagles to soar high above whatever may be pressing in. There is steadiness for the daily walk and endurance for the long run. For the Lord is faithful and will always come through.

The Evangelism of Being Blessed

God be merciful to us and bless us,
  And cause His face to shine upon us. Selah.
That Your way may be known on earth,
  Your salvation among all nations.

(Psalm 67:1-2)

Here is a benediction with which we can bless ourselves. It echoes the Aaronic blessing found in Numbers 6:22-27. The Hebrew word for “mercy” used here literally means to bend or stoop. It carries the idea of being gracious and showing favor. The word for “bless” literally means to kneel. When man blesses God, it is an act of adoration; when God blesses man, it is an act of favor and kindness. The blessing of God releases His power and goodness on our behalf.

The benediction, both here and in Numbers, calls for God to “cause His face to shine upon us,” to be bright and luminous towards us. We desire the presence of God, and for Him to look favorably upon us. Show us the glory of Your face, Lord.

In the mind of the psalm writer, being blessed has an evangelistic purpose: “That Your way may be known on earth, Your salvation among all nations.” When we are blessed, it is a revelation of God’s glory to the rest of the world.

The way of the Lord is the method of His operation, the manner of His thoughts, the workings of His heart. It is the expression of His purposes and desires. His way is seen in His Word and in His works. His ways are not our ways; they are different, and operate at a higher level (Isaiah 55:8-9). But He delights to reveal them to us. He showed them to Moses (Psalm 103:7) and here we see that He desires to reveal His way to all the earth, for His way is a way of mercy and blessing.

The Hebrew word for “salvation” here is yeshuah. It is deliverance from whatever has you bound. As a name, it translates into English as “Jesus.” The blessing comes so that Jesus — the ultimate expression of salvation — may be revealed.

The blessing God has for you is not just for you alone; it is a gateway for God to bring His salvation to all the world. Do not shy away from asking God to bless you, as some have done, for someone is waiting to see if it is real in your life before they give their life to God.

The blessing of God is bigger than you and me. It is an abundance that reveals His way on earth and His salvation even to the nations. The evidence of God’s presence and favor in your life sheds a light that attracts others.

Ordained Strength, Perfected Praise

O LORD, our Lord,
How excellent is Your name in all the earth,
Who have set Your glory above the heavens.
Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants
You have ordained strength,
Because of Your enemies,
That You may silence the enemy and the avenger.

(Psalm 8:2)

Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and he healed them. But when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful thing that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” they were indignant and said to Him, “Do You hear what these are saying?” And Jesus said to them, “Yes. Have you never read, “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise?” (Matthew 21:14-16)

There might seem to be a contradiction here: Is it “ordained strength” or “perfected praise?” The answer is: both. Let’s examine each and then see how they come together.

Ordained Strength

The Hebrew word for “ordained” means to set, appoint, establish or found. The word for “strength” can refer to boldness, might, power, strength, security, majesty, and praise. The Septuagint (early Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures, designated by LXX) translates it using ainos, the Greek word for praise.

This psalm declares that the name of the LORD is great in all the earth, and that His glory is established above the heavens. But what is more, God establishes His strength even in the utterances of infants and toddlers (mothers nursed their children longer in those days), and thereby stills the voices of those who hate Him and carry a grudge against Him.

Perfected Praise

In the New Testament, the Greek word for “perfected” means to be thoroughly complete, leaving nothing lacking. The word for “praise,” ainos, literally refers to a tale or narrative, but came to be used in the New Testament to extol the Lord. You might say that praise is the tale of His goodness, or the narrative of His greatness. The greatness of the Lord is demonstrated in that even small children declare His name fully and freely. That is what happened in Matthew’s account.

Perfected Praise IS Ordained Strength

Jesus was in the temple. First, He drove out the money changers, saying, “It is written, ‘My house shall be called a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of thieves” (Matthew 21:12-13). That upset some people (mainly, the money changers). He probably upset more people when He healed the blind and the lame — for these were not allowed into the sanctuary, but were restricted to the outer court (v. 14). Yet these were the very ones Jesus had chosen to minister to.

But the thing that really set off the ire of the chief priests and scribes was what happened next. There were children in the temple area, who, seeing the miracles Jesus performed, recognized their significance and began shouting, “Hosanna to the Son of David!”

Now, children had no standing in the realms of the religious — and just what were they doing in the temple anyway? To make things worse, now they were raising a ruckus, crying out with Hosannas! to Jesus — and Jesus did nothing to stop them, but gladly received their praise. The indignant officials went to Jesus: “Do You hear these children — what they’re saying?” Imagine them impatiently waiting with a “Well, are you just going to stand there?” look on their faces.

What Jesus did next stunned them. For He not only affirmed the praise offered up by the children, He even backed it up with Scripture:

Yes. Have you never read, “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise?”

You see, the children had readily received what should have been apparent to all who were around. Their young eyes had perceived Messiah in their midst, and they openly declared His praise. But the chief priests and scribes had already shut their hearts to Jesus, and now the praises of the children had shut their mouths — they had nothing else to say.

Praise is a powerful weapon in spiritual warfare (make no mistake, this warfare is going on all around us all the time). The more thorough our praise, the greater our strength. The enemy cannot stand to be around when the name of Jesus is exalted. The accuser cannot accuse when we are praising God for His mercy and pouring out our thanks to Him. Simple, child-like worship and adoration stills the God-haters and silences the grudge-holders, for thorough, perfected praise is the foundation of strength.

How to Develop Solid Expectation

Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. (1 John 5:14-15)

We can have confidence in God, that when we ask anything according to His will, He hears us and will grant what we ask. This is solid expectation — but where does it come from? How can we know what the will of God is? Consider Paul’s words to the church at Rome:

But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down from above) or, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead). But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” (that is, the word of faith which we preach … So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” (Romans 10:6-8, 17)

In this context, Paul is speaking about the will of God as the “righteousness of faith.” That, in essence, is what the will of God is always about. And it is not hard to know what the will of God is. We don’t have to die and go to heaven or pass through hell on earth before we can discover it. God has already revealed it, very simply. It is close by, “in your mouth and in your heart.” It is the “word of faith.” For, as Paul adds, faith comes by hearing the Word of God. That is where we discover the will of God.

We often think of the will of God as something we must learn to resign ourselves to, as if it were some terrible burden. But the will of God is His delight, desire and purpose for you and the world. It is not a negative thing, but a very good and positive thing. Consider the word the Lord delivered through Jeremiah to the people of Israel in the midst of their captivity in Babylon:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me, and I will listen to you. (Jeremiah 29:11-12)

No matter what your need or circumstance, God has made some wonderful promises to you concerning it. His great desire for you is peace, to give you a future and a hope — solid expectation! Here is how you can develop that expectation:

• Get into the Word of God and begin learning His heart.
• Make note of those Scriptures which speak particularly to your situation.
• Let these Scriptures fill your heart and stir up your faith.
• Let them fill your mouth, also, declaring and decreeing the will of God over your life.
• Then ask God whatever you desire, according to His will, knowing that He not only hears you, but that He will give you what you ask.
  

God desires the very best for you—peace and wholeness, a future and a hope. You can know His wonderful will for your life, ask Him to fulfill it, and have a solid expectation that it will be done.

Giving Substance to Hope

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Many people have hope, but no faith, so their hope is vain. Hope without faith has no substance, no underlying reality to it. It is merely a wish, a desire which may or may not be fulfilled. It is faith that lays a foundation and gives substance to hope. Faith gives evidence about what is going on in the spiritual realm and must one day appear in the natural.

The Bible says that faith comes by hearing the Word of God (Romans 10:17). If you need real hope — hope that has substance, hope that has evidence — get into the Word of God and believe His promises. For whatever God says, comes to pass, and He has many wonderful things to say about those who turn to Him in faith.

Faith gives substance to hope.

Abundantly Available Help

God our refuge and strength,
Abundantly available help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear.

(Psalm 46:1-2)

I understand that first line to be a name by which God reveals Himself to us. It is the nature of His commitment to us, what we can expect from Him in our covenant relationship: shelter and strength. The “our” makes it personal.

Your Bible version may read “a very present help.” I prefer the margin note in mine, which reads “abundantly available help” (I always go with abundance).

God is abundantly available help for you in the time of trouble. This reveals God’s willingness to help. Many people realize that God is able to help in any situation. That requires very little faith. But what takes faith is to say that, not only is God able to help, but He will help (See God Will Deliver Us — Without a Doubt for a wonderful example of this in the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego in the fiery furnace.)

The Hebrew word for “trouble” means “narrow or tight; in anguish, distress or tribulation, beset by enemies, adversaries and foes of all kinds; pressed hard.”

Whenever you find yourself in a jam, a tight spot, “between a rock and a hard place,” God is more than willing to help. That’s why Jesus came. He will be your refuge, the place were you can go for safety. He will be your strength — you do not have to deal with adverse circumstances in your own strength. God is more than willing to help you, to protect you, to bring you out into a wide place.

A Covenant Without Curse

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. (Hebrews 8:6)

The old covenant God made with Israel was a marvelous covenant with many wonderful provisions and blessings for all who kept it (see Deuteronomy 28:1-14 for a good summary of these benefits). Alas, Israel was unable to keep the Law of Moses, so all that was left was the curse (see Deuteronomy 28:15-68). For God said,

I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and our descendants may live. (Deuteronomy 30:19)

The covenant that was meant for life and blessing became a covenant of cursing and death. However, Israel was not without hope. For the Mosaic Law made provision for sacrifices which would cover willful sin and inherent iniquity. These sacrifices were types which pointed toward a greater fulfillment that would one day come in the person and work of the Messiah (see Isaiah 53, where the prophet describes this work).

In his letter to the church at Galatia, Paul speaks directly to the issue of the blessing and the curse, and what Messiah (Christ) has done about them:

Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14)

Where there is curse, there is no blessing, but where there is blessing, there is no curse. Jesus has freed us from the curse of the law and brought us into the blessing of Abraham (which predates the law by 400 years). Therefore, the curse has no right to be on those whom God has blessed.

Once we were under the curse, dead in trespasses and sins. But now we have a new and better covenant with God, mediated to us by the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. This covenant does not come up short in any way. It does not lack any of the benefits of the Old Covenant, but adds to them. In the New Covenant, there is no curse, for Jesus has completely taken all of the curses and nailed them to the Cross. In effect, He has cursed the curse, for the Bible says, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.”

The curse no longer applies to those who have become the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ. The devil may try to tell you that you are still cursed, but you can be free from his deceit by reminding him that Jesus the Messiah has redeemed us from the curse. You may still find the effects of the curse still operating in your live (see Deuteronomy 28:15-68 for a thorough listing of these effects), but you now have the right to bring them under submission to the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. The power of the curse has been broken, and its right to be on you has been revoked.

Dear Lord Jesus,
I thank You that You have redeemed me from every curse, so that the wonderful blessing of Abraham can come upon me. Thank you for the Holy Spirit, who comes to empower and teach me how to walk in the life of blessing You have provided for me. Thank You for the new and better covenant You have established by Your blood on my behalf. I trust Your provision, and I receive this New Covenant and all its blessings. And now, in the authority of Jesus’ name, I tell the devil, the curse and all its effects to take a hike — they no longer have any right to be in my life. Thank You, Lord. Amen.

To go along with this article, listen to Choosing Life, a free MP3 download from our CD, Healing Scriptures and Prayers Vol. 2: New Testament Scriptures (Actually, it is based on an Old Testament passage, but it is a bonus track on CD 2).

The Rest of Faith

I lay down and slept;
I awoke, for the LORD sustained me.

(Psalm 3:5)

I will both lie down in peace, and sleep;
For you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.

(Psalm 4:8)

Be still and know that I am God.

(Psalm 46:10)

Unless the LORD builds the house,
They labor in vain who build it;
Unless the LORD guards the city,
The watchman stays awake in vain.
It is vain for you to rise up early,
To sit up late,
To eat the bread of sorrows;
For so He gives His beloved sleep.

(Psalm 127:1-2)

The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day. (Mark 4:26)

Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the Word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it. For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest,” although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works.” (Hebrews 4:1-4)

There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest. (Hebrews 4:9-11)

When you enter into faith, there is no striving, no sleepless nights of worry, no fear. There is only rest, peace, and the intimate knowledge that He is God. It is the way of God, the way of His kingdom, the way of faith.

Enter into the rest of God by believing His Word.

How the Faith of God Works

Have faith of God. (Mark 11:22)

God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did. (Romans 4:17).

Jesus said, “Have faith of God.” Your version might say “Have faith in God,” but a literal rendering of the Greek text is “Have faith of God.” Some Bibles note this in the margin.

What does it mean to have faith of God? It is the faith that comes from God. It is possible to have a sort of faith that comes from other sources. But the kind of faith the Bible talks about comes from God. It is the gift of God and it comes by hearing His Word (Ephesians 2:8; Romans 10:17).

What is faith? It is believing the Word of God. God is full of faith — He believes everything He says and always expects it to come to pass, fully and completely (Isaiah 55:10-11).

How does this faith work? Paul answered that in Romans 4, where he talks about the faith of Abraham:

Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all (as it is written, “I have made you a father of many nations”) in the presence of Him whom he believed—God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did; who, contrary to hope, in hope believed, so that he became the father of many nations, according to what was spoken, “So shall your descendants be.” (Romans 4:16-18)

God calls things which do not exist as though they did. In the beginning, when darkness was over the face of the earth, God called for light. Light did not yet exist, it had not yet been created. God called for it anyway — “Light, be!” And there was light, because God called it.

God called Abraham “a father of many nations.” In fact, God changed his name from Abram (“exalted father”) to Abraham (“father of multitudes”).

No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. (Genesis 17:5)

But at the time, in the natural, Abraham was not a father of any kind, not even the father of one, much less of multitudes. So what was God doing? He was calling things which did not exist as though they did. Notice that God was not speaking in the future tense, “I will make you a father of many nations,” but in the past tense, “I have made you a father of many nations.” It was a done deal, because God was calling for it. And because He was calling for it, it could not be otherwise. God fully expected to see it happen in the natural. That is how the faith of God works.

Man was created to operate in the God kind of faith, to call things that do not yet exist as though they did. Consider the first assignment God gave to Adam. Adam was created in the image of God, and the breath of God was puffed into his nostrils. Then God brought the animals to Adam to see what he would call them. He did not tell him what to call them, but simply observed what he would call them. “And whatever Adam called each living creature, that was its name” (Genesis 2:19).

Names are very important. They call things into existence. When Adam gave names to the animals, he was calling forth their nature and destiny. He actually set their destiny by the names he called them. He assigned their character by these names. Though the creatures themselves existed before Adam named them, their nature and destiny did not. Adam assigned these to them by the names he gave them. He called those things which did not exist as though they did.

Jesus taught His disciples this principle of faith in Mark 11. One day, He spoke to a fig tree and said, “Let no one eat fruit from you ever again” (v. 14). The next day, He and His disciples passed by the tree, when Peter noticed and said, “Rabbi, look! The fig tree which you cursed has withered away” (v. 21). Jesus answered,

Have faith in [of] God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (Mark 11:22-23)

What was He doing? He was teaching them how to call those things which do not exist as though they did. If there is a mountain standing in the way, tell it to move. The removal of that mountain does not yet exist—that’s why you call for it to move. You are calling for something which does not yet exist (the removal of the mountain) as though it already did. Jesus says, when you do that, and you believe in your heart that what you say will be done, you will have whatever you say. In the next verse, He drives this point even further:

Therefore, I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them. (v. 24)

The NIV render this, “believe that you have received them.” They may not exist yet in the natural. No matter — believe you have received them anyway. Treat them as if they do exist in the natural. This is calling things which do not exist as though they did.

Calling things that don’t exist is how God operates. It is also how the faith of God is to operate in us.

The Seed of the Kingdom

Then He said, “To what shall we liken the kingdom of God? Or with what parable shall we picture it? It is like a mustard seed which, when it is sown on the ground, is smaller than all the seeds on earth; but when it is sown, it grows up and becomes greater than all herbs, and shoots out large branches, so that the birds of the air may nest under its shade.” (Mark 4:30-32)

The kingdom of God is like a mustard seed. It starts out very small; it grows up and becomes huge, offering refuge for all who would come under its shade. The life of the kingdom and the entire pattern of its development is all within the seed at the very beginning. When it hits the soil, it goes to work and begins to emerge.

Jesus also talked about faith as a mustard seed:

If you have faith as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, “Be pulled up by the roots and be planted in the sea,” and it would obey you. (Luke 17:6)

It is not the size of the seed that matters, but what you do with it. It must be planted, then it can bring about amazing, seemingly impossible results. The way you plant faith as a mustard seed is by what you say. Jesus said, “If you have faith … you can say” (see also Mark 11:22-23, below).

In the same way, the kingdom of God is planted by words. In the parable of the sower, earlier in Mark 4, Jesus identifies the seed as the word (v. 14). In Matthew it is called the “word of the kingdom” (Matthew 13:19). Luke’s account identifies it very plainly: “The seed is the Word of God” (Luke 8:11).

When the seed hits the soil, it immediately goes to work and starts to grow. Likewise, when the Word of God, the word of the kingdom, comes into the world, it immediately goes to work and begins to grow. For the world was created by the Word of God in the first place(Hebrews 11:3), therefore it must always respond to it.

For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven,
And do not return there,
But water the earth,
And make it bring forth and bud,
That it may give seed to the sower
And bread to the eater,
So shall My Word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.

(Isaiah 55:10-11)

It is by the Word of God that the kingdom comes forth and flourishes. It does not matter whether that Word is in God’s mouth or ours, it will always produce when it is spoken in faith. For Jesus has given all those who believe in Him the authority to speak the Word of God and call forth the kingdom of God upon the earth. He taught us to pray, “Kingdom of God, come! Will of God be done on earth as it is in heaven!” (Matthew 6:10).

Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. (Matthew 18:18)

Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. (Matthew 18:19)

Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, “Be removed and be cast into the sea,” and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. (Mark 11:22-23)

The Word of God, whether in His mouth or in ours, is the seed that brings forth the kingdom of God on the earth.

Sowing the Kingdom

And He said, “The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground, and should sleep by night and rise by day, and the seed should sprout and grow, he himself does not know how. For the earth yields crops by itself; first the blade, then the head, after that the full grain in the head. But when the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come.” (Mark 4:26-30)

Jesus likened the kingdom of God to a man sowing seed. His role is simple.

He scatters the seed. The Greek text uses the definite article — “the seed.” This man has seed to sow, and he does with it exactly what you are supposed to do with it; he sows it.

He sleeps by night and rises by day. He goes about his business. He does not worry about the seed. He does not keep pulling it up to see how it’s doing. He knows that he has done his part, and he trusts the seed to do its part. He does not know how the seed will do what it does; he just knows that it will. And so he rests and goes about his business.

When the grain ripens, immediately he puts in the sickle. He watches for the grain to ripen, then he harvests the fruit of the seed he has sown. It is an age-old principle: “While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest … shall not cease” (Genesis 8:22).

Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not. (Galatians 6:7-9)

This man does not sow in fear, but in expectation. From the beginning, he has a vision of the harvest. He has an expectation of reaping, and he is patient. He does not reach for the sickle when the seed begins to sprout and the blade comes up. He waits. It begins to bud and blossom. Still he waits. The fruit grows and comes to its proper fullness. But it is not yet ripe, so he keeps waiting and watching. When the fruit is fully ripe — now it is time, and he reaches for his harvesting tools.

Notice that puts in the sickle immediately. All the while he has been waiting, he has been watching, for he knows that the time of harvest, when it comes, comes suddenly, and there is a short window of opportunity to gather it in.

Many people have sowed their seed, but missed their harvest because they were not waiting or they were not watching. They either killed it off early, or else they were not aware or prepared when the time came to act. But the man in this parable was wise: He sowed, he waited, he watched, and then he quickly gathered the harvest.

That is what the kingdom of God is like. It is like a seed that we sow. If we will sow the seed, the kingdom of God will do the rest. Jesus said, “The earth yields crops by itself.” This has very much to do with the kingdom of God, for Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). The kingdom of God is His will being done on earth exactly as it is being done in heaven. The whole earth, all of creation, is waiting for this to happen. Paul said,

For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope; because the creation itself also will be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. (Romans 8:19-22)

What is the seed that brings forth the kingdom of God? Jesus spoke of it earlier in Mark 4, in the parable of the sower. Explaining this parable to the disciples, He said, “The sower sows the word” (v. 14). This is the word that comes from God. Peter called the Word of God incorruptible seed “which lives and abides forever” (1 Peter 1:23).

This incorruptible seed, this eternal Word, was present at the beginning of creation when God spoke the world into existence. “By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God” (Hebrews 11:3). Now all creation waits for the revealing of the sons of God — the people of God who will sow the seeds of His kingdom by taking His Word in their mouths and say, “Kingdom of God, come! Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.”

Our job is to be faithful in sowing the seed, to believe the seed to do its work, to watch with patient expectation, and be ready to gather in the harvest.

Taking On Lent

Lent begins today, Ash Wednesday, six weeks before Easter Sunday. It is a time of repentance and preparation. The ashes on the first day of this season represent mourning over sin and the longing for holiness. In Lent, we remember the temptation of Christ in the wilderness and His journey to the Cross. We become aware of how Christ humbled himself and how God calls us, also, to humility as we participate in his redemptive purposes. We consider, also, what our own place of service and sacrifice is in his divine plan.

Lent concludes with Holy Week. On Palm Sunday, we think of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, knowing that soon he would be rejected by the Jewish leaders. The irony of this is subtly observed by the burning of this year’s palms to become next year's Lenten ashes.

Many Christians talk about what they are “giving up” for Lent. But that needs to be understood in the context of what we are taking on. That is, what am I willing to let go of so that I may accomplish the destiny God has for me? Jesus extends this invitation:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give your rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light. (Matthew 11:29-30)

Paul reckoned it this way:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

The forty days of Lent is an opportunity to enter again into the purpose, passion and power of the Lord Jesus Christ, and be made more like him.

There is Always Enough

WOW! Yesterday was the final day of the 2006 convening of International Apostolic Ministries (the body that ordained Suzanne and me). Heidi Baker, of Iris Ministries, ministered to us, morning and evening.

Heidi and her husband, Rolland Baker, minister to multitudes in Mozambique. They feed, clothe, and house the poor, preaching the Good News of Jesus Christ to them. They have seen countless miracles of provision and healing. Heidi's testimony is summed up by the title of her book: Always Enough (available at Amazon).

Heidi's a.m. message to us was on multiplication (as in Jesus feeding the 5,000). The take-away point that impressed itself upon me is that there is ALWAYS enough of everything--that's why Jesus came. If we will go to the Lord every day to eat and drink of Him, there will always be enough to love and take care of all those God has set before us.

Her p.m. message was that God wants us to be His house. If we will surrender everything to Him, He will come and fill us with Himself — the greatest treasure. That is our job: to let Him fill us. The position of ministers (and all His people are called to be His ministers) is this, to quote Heidi: "lower still."

Are you willing to come before your Father in heaven and let Him be your life, your purpose, your provision? That is what biblical faith is all about.

The Pleasure of God on Earth

Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)

This line is, of course, from the Lord’s Prayer, the prayer Jesus authorized us to pray. It is in the imperative mood; that is, it is a command: Will of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.

The Greek word for “will” has a semantic range which includes these meanings: determination, choice, purpose, inclination, decree, pleasure, desire, will.

So we might also pray this way:

• Determination of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Choice of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Purpose of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Inclination of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Decree of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Pleasure of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.
• Desire of God, be done on earth as it is in heaven.

We are authorized to announce God’s determinations and choices, to articulate His purposes, manifest His inclinations, and declare His decrees. To us is given the joy of calling for His pleasure and desire to be fulfilled on earth as they are in heaven.

The Lever of Commitment

For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong on behalf of those whose heart is loyal to Him. (2 Chronicles 16:9)

Recently, one of the pastors at our church was preaching the Sunday morning service. At one point in his message, he wanted to say something about “level of commitment.” But his tongue stumbled a bit and out came “lever of commitment.” He quickly recovered and move on with his sermon.

But I was caught by the profundity of his slip of the tongue: lever of commitment.

A lever is a simple machine, a tool that greatly multiplies the effect of your effort. It focuses your energy for greater efficiency and productivity. Leverage is a powerful thing. Archimedes said, “Give me a lever and a place to stand and I’ll move the world.”

Commitment brings a powerful leverage that can change the world. It is like a tiny seed that grows up to become a mighty tree. It is like a little bit of leaven that leavens the whole lump of dough. It is a patient expectation, a dogged perseverance, an endurance that does not quit until its objective is secured.

God is not looking for men of renown or great talent. He has talents and gifts in great abundance. But He is looking for those who are faithful (full of faith) upon whom He can bestow greatness.

Commitment is faith linked with perseverance — a mighty combination that can change the world. How is your lever of commitment?

Faith is a Conductor

Now a woman, having a flow of blood for twelve years, who had spent all her livelihood on physicians and could not be healed by any, came from behind and touched the border of His garment. And immediately her flow of blood stopped.

And Jesus said, “Who touched Me?”

When all denied it, Peter and those with him said, “Master, the multitudes throng and press You, and You say, ‘Who touched Me?’”

But Jesus said, “Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from me.”

Now when the woman saw that she was not hidden, she came trembling; and falling down before Him, she declared to Him in the presence of all the people the reason she had touched Him and how she was healed immediately.

And He said to her, “Daughter, be of good cheer; you faith has made you well. Go in peace.” (Luke 8:43-48)

Faith is a conductor for the power of God. Many people must have brushed up against Jesus, as Peter suggested, but only one touched Him in faith. Matthew’s account records of this woman, “For she said to herself, ‘If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well’” (Matthew 9:21). This woman had faith and she knew how to release it: She called for what she desired, and believed in her heart that she would receive it. Then when she touched Jesus, she received what she believed.

When this woman released her faith, she received a great release of the power of God. She perceived this power when she realized that she had immediately been healed. Jesus Himself perceived that power had gone out of Him, and clearly said so. That is how He knew that someone had touched Him so distinctly in faith.

The Greek word for power is dunamis. It is the substance that went forth from Jesus’ body, through His garment and into the woman. It was the power of God, resident in the body of Jesus Christ, that healed this woman, but her faith was the conductor that laid hold of this mighty power and conveyed it from the body of Jesus into her own.

Now the power of God was available and more than sufficient for any and every need this woman might have had. It just so happens that, in her case, the great need was for healing. If her need had been different, her faith could have conducted the power of God in the same way to meet it. On a different occasion, Jesus said, “If you can believe, all things are possible to him who believes” (Mark 9:23).

When you learn how to activate your faith (see Mark 11:22-25), it will be a strong conductor for releasing the power of God, not only to meet every need in your life, but also to minister it to the lives of others.

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Healing Scriptures and Prayers
by Jeff Doles

Preview with Amazon’s “Look Inside.”

Available in paperback and Kindle (Amazon), epub (Google and iTunes) and PDF.

The Focus of Faith: God

So Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says.” (Mark 11:22-23)

Some people focus on the mountain: so big, so high, so impossible. Some people focus on their faith: so small, so weak, so inadequate.

But Jesus teaches us to focus on God. Before He ever talks about moving mountains, He simply says, “Have faith in God.” Faith apart from God is meaningless. True, biblical faith comes from God. Before we can operate in faith, we must focus on God, and have the kind of faith that comes from Him.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God Romans 10:17). Let that faith fill your heart to overflowing by hearing the Word, speaking the Word, meditating on the Word. Then you will be ready to speak to the mountain and see it move.

If you want to move mountains, here is what to do: Don’t focus on the mountain. Don’t even focus on your faith. Focus on God.

Choosing for Your House

Choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. (Joshua 24:15)

Joshua made his choice. He made it not only for himself, but for his family and all who were in his house. Such is the authority and power of inheritance. Such is the authority and power of a father. Everything we do, every decision we make, will have great influence upon the direction and destiny of our family.

Adam learned this the hard way. When he chose to eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, he established the destiny for all his sons and daughters who would come after him. Ever since then, the whole world has experienced both good and evil, agonizing to sort between the two, and suffering the unintended consequences of Adam’s rebellion. Fortunately, God had a plan for redemption, which would come through the family line of Adam and Eve. We read the first mention of this promise in Genesis 3:16. Adam and Eve received this good news by faith, and the possibility for salvation has also been passed down to all their generations.

We read of Noah’s decision:

By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household, by which he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith. (Hebrew 11:7)

Noah chose for his household when he decided to believe and obey the LORD, and his family was spared from destruction. Had he chosen differently, you and I would not be here.

God said of Abraham,

And the LORD said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am doing, since Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.” (Genesis 18:17-19)

Abraham believed the promise made to him and his descendants. In fact, he believed even before he had any descendants. God was not choosing Abraham; He was establishing in Abraham a whole new household. When Abraham believed God, he was choosing not just for himself, but for all those who would come after him.

Isaac, son of Abraham, chose to believe the covenant, and he passed it on to his sons.

Jacob, son of Isaac, chose to receive the covenant. At Bethel, he wrestled with God until God blessed him. Then in his old age, Jacob gathered his sons together and passed the blessing on to them (see Genesis 49). From him came the twelve tribes of Israel, and from one of them, Judah, came the promised Messiah.

The Old Testament is full of examples where one person’s decision established the destiny for their household. In the New Testament, also, we read of:

• Cornelius. He obeyed the vision of God which instructed him to send for Peter. Peter came and preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to Cornelius’ entire household. “While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the Word” (Acts 10:44). Then they were all baptized in the name of the Lord (v. 48).
• Lydia. “Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay’” (Acts 16:14-15).
• The Philippian Jailer. He cried out, “What must I do to be saved.” Paul and Silas said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” (Acts 16:31). They preached to him and all his house and ended up baptizing every one of them. “Now, when he had brought them into his house, he set food before them; and he rejoiced, having believed in God with all his household” (v. 34). The jailer’s decision brought salvation to all his house. But what if he had gone through with his original plan to kill himself?
• Stephanas. Paul said, “Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas” (1 Corinthians 1:16). Stephanas’ decision to receive Christ opened the door for salvation to come to his whole household.
• Onesiphorus. Paul wrote, “Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus” (2 Timothy 4:19). The faith Onesiphorus had permeated his household so much that Paul greets them along with the rest of the church under Timothy’s leadership.
• Lois and Eunice. Paul said to Timothy, “I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also” ( 2 Timothy 1:5). The choice Lois made carried through to her daughter, and even influenced the destiny of her grandson, Timothy.

Be encouraged. The choice you make to honor the LORD will greatly influence the destiny of your entire household for the good. Choose wisely.

Heaven Now

Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. (Matthew 6:20)

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ. (Ephesians 1:3)

Growing up in church, and even in Bible college, I had the impression that these sayings about heaven were only for when I died. Yes, I was laying up treasure for myself, as Jesus said, but I didn’t expect to see one bit of it before I kicked off of this planet. Yes, I was blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies, but that was for later, not for now.

Now, perhaps that is what I was taught, or perhaps that was what I picked out by my own feeble understanding. I won’t blame my teachers and professors, although, looking back, there was an awful lot of that weak tea going around. But I will blame it on the deceptions of the devil.

It was supposed to be an encouragement to me to know that I had all these treasures and blessings waiting for me “in the sweet, by and by.” But other than that, they seemed to have no practical value to me in the mixed-up here and now. There was a saying that used to go around (and probably still does in some circles): “He’s so heavenly-minded that he’s no earthly good.” What we were meant to glean from that aphorism is that you better not be thinking about heaven too much if you want to get anything done on earth.

How utterly ridiculous!

I have since come to realize that, until I get my head firmly stuck in heaven and my mind solidly established in the spiritual realm, I won’t be able to accomplish anything at all worth keeping. Paul said,

If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

Heaven is precisely where our minds are supposed to be focused. Why? Because that is where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of the Father — and that is exactly where we are, hidden with Christ in God. Paul makes this even more explicit in Ephesians 2:4-6.

But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Think this through: God the Father is seated in heaven on His throne, where He rules and reigns forever. Jesus Christ the Son is seated there also by His side, where He rules and reigns forever. Not only that, but every believer in Jesus Christ has been made alive, raised up and is now seated together in Jesus in the heavenlies. If we are seated with Jesus (and the Bible says that we are), then we are seated on the throne with Him. And what do you do on the throne? You rule and reign. That is, we rule and reign with the Lord Jesus Christ — not sometime off in the future when we die or are raptured out of here, but right now. Today. This moment.

That is why we need to get our mind into heaven, to understand our identity in Christ, to understand the authority and power God has given us to make His kingdom known on earth.

• The treasures we lay up for ourselves in heaven are not for the sake of heaven but for the sake of earth. We won’t need them in heaven, but we do need them here and now, to bring forth the kingdom of heaven on earth.
• Every spiritual blessing we have been given in the heavenlies is for our use now, to fulfill God’s purpose through His people. The spiritual realm is not divorced from the natural realm, but is actually the source of the natural realm.
• The prayer Jesus taught us to pray, “Kingdom of God, come. Will of God be done, on earth as it is in heaven,” is for now. If we’re going to call for the will of God to be done on earth as it is in heaven, then we better be able to see what’s going on in heaven.
  

The kingdom of God is breaking through into this present age. Jesus said,

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. (Matthew 11:12 NIV)

The kingdom of heaven is not static, it is dynamic. It is forcefully advancing upon the earth. That is why we must have our focus firmly fixed on heaven, not because that is where we are going, but because it is breaking forth into our world.

We need to change our perspective. We are not the last team out, waiting for the Big Airlift to extract us from this old, sinful world. No, we are an insertion team, an advance unit heralding the kingdom of God, bringing the power and authority of heaven to bear on the problems of the planet and establishing the rule and reign of God on the earth. It is a “can’t lose” situation, for at the end of the book of Revelation, we see heaven and earth coming together as one. That is where all things are headed, but for the believer in Jesus Christ, heaven is now.

Understanding Things Not Seen

But as it is written:
“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)

There are things that are seen, and things that are not seen. It is important to see with your eyes — thank God for them — but it is even more important to see with your spirit. That is, to see the deep things of God which are revealed to us by His Spirit.

The things which are not seen are eternal.

We do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. for the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal … For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Corinthians 4:18; 5:7)

Everything you see with your physical eyes is only temporary. Only that which cannot be seen will endure. How much better to set your focus on that which will last than on that which will not, to walk by faith, not by sight.

The things which are not seen are evidenced by faith.

Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

Faith is the substance, the underlying reality, of things not seen but which we fully expect to see. Though these things are not seen, they are made evident to our spirit by faith.

The things which are not seen frame the visible world.

By faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible. (Hebrews 11:3)

God is invisible. He is Spirit, and it is by His Words, words of His Spirit, that all things were created. To see only with physical eyes is to deal only with effects. To get down to cause and origin and source, you must learn to see in the spiritual realm, to understand by faith.

The things which are not seen must finally be reckoned with.

By faith, Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark for the saving of his household. (Hebrews 11:7)

Had Noah not paid attention to that which is unseen, he would not have prepared an ark, and we would not be here today.

The things which are not seen give us the proper understanding of reality.

These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off were assured of them, embraced them and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (Hebrews 11:13)

The Old Testament saints had many wonderful promises from God. They did not experience them in the natural, but saw them “afar off” in the spirit. Their hearts were thus properly oriented to the reality that their lives were firmly rooted in things not seen. By their faith, properly focused on things not seen, they brought forth the promised fulfillment which came after them.

The things which are not seen require the perseverance of hope.

We also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. (Romans 8:23-25)

In the Bible, hope is a positive anticipation, a joyful expectation that everything God has said will come to pass. It is not seeing with the eyes, but seeing with the heart, seeing in the spirit. Everyone who has received the Lord Jesus Christ is a beneficiary of the firstfruits of the Holy Spirit. Though we have not yet seen all that God has promised, the Holy Spirit is the guarantee within us that it will all be fulfilled. It is this eager anticipation that causes us to persevere. For what is not now seen will one day be fully revealed.

The things which are not seen are revealed by faith in Jesus Christ.

Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father … He who has seen Me has seen the Father. (John 6:46; 14:9)

Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed. (John 20:29)

Whom [Jesus Christ] having not seen, you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory. (1 Peter 1:8)

No one has seen the Father except the Son, but if you have seen the Son, you have seen the Father. Though we do not now see Jesus Christ in the flesh, we are able to see Him, by faith, in the spirit. And seeing Him by faith, we see the Father.

The things which are not seen with our natural eyes are revealed to us in the spirit. Faith is the evidence.